They were amongst several Kurdish tribes that were transplanted from northwestern Iran to Mazandaran in the late 18th century by then ruler of Iran, Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar (r. 1789–1797), in order to protect the province from Turkmen raids.
[1] Fortescue observed that the Jahanbeglu and Modanlu groups emerged as offshoots of the Mokri tribe from Mahabad (formerly "Savojbolagh").
[1] After being moved to Mazandaran by Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, the Jahanbeglu settled between Behshahr (formerly "Ashraf") and Larim to the north of the province's capital Sari.
[1] However, according to Grigorii Melgunov, who visited Mazandaran in 1858–1860, a group of Jahanbeglu were also found to the southwest of Sari.
[1] Though the Jahanbeglu and Modanlu were reportedly still able to speak in their original Kurdish dialect by 1922, they had already become significantly assimilated into the native Mazandaranis.